Theorizing the Superhero

Theorizing the Superhero PDF Author: Aditya Misra
Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan
ISBN: 9783031629327
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
This book uses contemporary continental philosophy to develop an alternative theory of the superhero to the one currently offered by the comic book industry and comic book studies. Studying superheroes from South Asian pop culture, this book questions the definition of the superhero and the allegedly sacrosanct nature of its origin and identity in comic books. This book looks at the superhero as a performative figure and explores how the superheroic imagination opens up diverse modes of creative thinking. Superheroes studied in this book include Narayan Debnath’s Bantul the Great (comics), Premendra Mitra’s Ghanashyam Das or Ghanada (Tall Tale), Satyajit Ray’s Professor Trilokeswar Shonku (science fiction/fantasy fiction), and one of the nine gems of Emperor Akbar’s court, Raja Birbar or Birbal (mediaeval Indian history). By virtue of perpetual reconfiguration of its elements, the book argues, the concept of the superhero makes itself ‘always new’ and it is always already ‘open onto elsewhere’.

Theorizing the Superhero

Theorizing the Superhero PDF Author: Aditya Misra
Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan
ISBN: 9783031629327
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 0

Get Book Here

Book Description
This book uses contemporary continental philosophy to develop an alternative theory of the superhero to the one currently offered by the comic book industry and comic book studies. Studying superheroes from South Asian pop culture, this book questions the definition of the superhero and the allegedly sacrosanct nature of its origin and identity in comic books. This book looks at the superhero as a performative figure and explores how the superheroic imagination opens up diverse modes of creative thinking. Superheroes studied in this book include Narayan Debnath’s Bantul the Great (comics), Premendra Mitra’s Ghanashyam Das or Ghanada (Tall Tale), Satyajit Ray’s Professor Trilokeswar Shonku (science fiction/fantasy fiction), and one of the nine gems of Emperor Akbar’s court, Raja Birbar or Birbal (mediaeval Indian history). By virtue of perpetual reconfiguration of its elements, the book argues, the concept of the superhero makes itself ‘always new’ and it is always already ‘open onto elsewhere’.

Theorizing the Superhero

Theorizing the Superhero PDF Author: Aditya Misra
Publisher: Springer Nature
ISBN: 3031629337
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 194

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Book Description


The Superhero Symbol

The Superhero Symbol PDF Author: Liam Burke
Publisher: Rutgers University Press
ISBN: 0813597161
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 337

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Book Description
Bringing together superhero scholars and key industry figures The Superhero Symbol unmasks how superheroes have become so pervasive in media, culture, and politics. This timely collection explores how these powerful icons are among the entertainment industry's most valuable intellectual properties, yet can be appropriated for everything from activism to cosplay and real-life vigilantism.

Superheroes and Philosophy

Superheroes and Philosophy PDF Author: Tom Morris
Publisher: ReadHowYouWant.com
ISBN: 1459601130
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 470

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Book Description
Great Caesars Ghost!! A team of Brainiacs! Superheroes and Philosophy is Kryptonite for those super villains who diss the heroes as lightweights! Riddle me this, Batman: How are Gotham City and Metropolis like ancient Athens and modern Paris? Read this sensational book and find out!

The Myth of the Superhero

The Myth of the Superhero PDF Author: Marco Arnaudo
Publisher: JHU Press
ISBN: 1421409534
Category : Comics & Graphic Novels
Languages : en
Pages : 218

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Book Description
Translated for the first time into English, The Myth of the Superhero looks beyond the cape, the mask, and the superpowers, presenting a serious study of the genre and its place in a broader cultural context.

The Superhero Reader

The Superhero Reader PDF Author: Charles Hatfield
Publisher: Univ. Press of Mississippi
ISBN: 1617038067
Category : Literary Collections
Languages : en
Pages : 343

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Book Description
A full exploration of the history, politics, and aesthetics of the superhero genre

Superheroes and Critical Animal Studies

Superheroes and Critical Animal Studies PDF Author: J.L. Schatz
Publisher: Lexington Books
ISBN: 1498549276
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 201

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Book Description
Superheroes and Critical Animal Studies explores and puts into dialogue two growing field of studies, comic studies and critical animal studies. The book’s aim is to create a form of praxis that people can use to actualize many of the values superheroes strive to protect. To this end, contributor chapters are divided into sections on the foundation of superhero representation and how to teach it, criticisms of particular superheroes and how they fall short of truly protecting the planet, and interpretations of specific characters that can be read to produce a positive orientation to the nonhuman world and craft strategies to promote liberation in the real world. Altogether, the book produces a form of scholarship on the media that is both intersectional in scope and tailored to have an impact on the reader beyond theorizing superheroes for theorization’s sake.

Superheroes: An Analysis of Popular Culture's Modern Myths

Superheroes: An Analysis of Popular Culture's Modern Myths PDF Author: David Reynolds
Publisher: Problematic Press
ISBN: 0986902705
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages :

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Book Description
A semiotic and cultural anthropological interrogation of popular North American superhero narratives, such as those of Superman, Spider-Man, and Batman, provides insight into how media’s messages influence the culture’s ethical values. Since emerging in the late 1930s, the superhero has become a pervasive figure in North American popular culture. As an extension of ideas presented by Friedrich Nietzsche, Joseph Campbell, and Umberto Eco, this dissertation argues that superhero tales must be regarded as modern mythology. It follows that people observe and learn social norms of justice from such narratives, since these ideals are intrinsic to the tales. In investigating the superhero’s role as a contemporary figure of myth, this project focuses primarily on three areas: an account of the history of the superhero from 1938 to present; an examination of the cultural functions of contemporary superhero narratives; and, an interrogation of vigilantism, responsibility, and justice in these narratives and how those concerns further relate to ideologies and practices in North American culture.

Superheroes and Critical Animal Studies

Superheroes and Critical Animal Studies PDF Author: J. L. Schatz
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781498549264
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 176

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Book Description
This book brings together comic studies and critical animal studies to provide a critical media analysis that centralizes total liberation for all beings--both human and nonhuman. Through the lens of superheroes, the book explores the cultural and literal consumption of nonhumans as a strategy for confronting humanism at large.

The Science of Superheroes

The Science of Superheroes PDF Author: Lois H. Gresh
Publisher: Wiley
ISBN: 0471463140
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 224

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Book Description
The truth about superpowers . . . science fact or science fiction? "An entertaining and informative guide to comic book wonders bound to come." —Julius Schwartz, Editor Emeritus, DC Comics Superman, Batman, The X-Men, Flash, Spider Man . . . they protect us from evildoers, defend truth and justice, and, occasionally, save our planet from certain doom. Yet, how much do we understand about their powers? In this engaging yet serious work, Lois Gresh and Robert Weinberg attempt to answer that question once and for all. From X-ray vision to psychokinesis, invisibility to lightspeed locomotion, they take a hard, scientific look at the powers possessed by all of our most revered superheroes, and a few of the lesser ones, in an attempt to sort fact from fantasy. In the process, they unearth some shocking truths that will unsettle, alarm, and even terrify all but the most fiendish of supervillains. Lois Gresh (Rochester, NY) has written eight novels and nonfiction books as well as dozens of short stories and has been nominated for national fiction awards six times. Robert Weinberg (Oak Forest, IL) is a multiple award-winning author of novels, nonfiction books, short stories and comics.